Dance of the blades

Chapter 27 Dwell Within A Demon's Abode

The dingy hallway spread across the house in a maze like structure, Lan Sizhui was most certain that if he and his friends were not attentive enough, they could easily lose their way from the series of doors and rooms that linger around the hallway. 

Lan Sizhui entered each doorway with cautious, his hands would frequently inched towards his sword, ready for any unexpected surprises. Following close behind him, Jin Ling and Lan Jingyi guarded his rear, vigilant and cautious of any noise escaping the confines of the surrounding walls. Lan Sizhui paused in his steps when the sound of both Jin Ling and Lan Jingyi's footsteps faltered behind him, turning around he spotted the cause of their abrupt halt.

"You two shouldn't be here! Wasn't Zizhen suppose to look after you two?" Lan Sizhui franticly inquired the two children, scurrying towards their group. They both flinch after hearing the uncharacteristic harshness in his usually gentle tone, stumbling in their steps. 

"But we heard a scratching sound coming from the box and it even started to shake!" the little boy proclaimed in fear, with his little sister trailing behind. His statement left both Jin Ling and Lan Jingyi puzzled, and Lan Sizhui in distressed. 

"Even so you shouldn't have left Zizhen and it behind! We can't protect both of you if we're going to fight the demon" Lan Sizhui chided, the two children lowered their heads at his reprimanding.

"Then what if we hide behind Zizhen gege? He followed us from behind when we ran in here" the little girl stated and pointed to the hallway behind her. As if on cue Ouyang Zizhen came rushing in from behind, carrying Lan Sizhui's wooden box on his person.

"Sorry guys I didn't think these two could run so fast" Ouyang Zizhen said while panting and placed the wooden box down to the ground.

"Maybe you should cut short your reading time for training Zizhen. Even little kids are starting to out run you now!" Lan Jingyi exclaimed as he watched his friend in amusement. His laughter cut short when the floor beneath them began to shake uncontrollably, causing  Lan Jingyi to stumble backwards and push both him and Lan Sizhui into the opened room beside them.

The sound of the tanggu reverberated through the room, the room's interior changing with each beat of the tanggu. With one hand on the surface of the room's wall, Lan Sizhui staggered to reach the wooden door. He grasp in surprise when instead of the grimy, cramped hallway he and Lan Jingyi had entered from, a spotless well lit corridor was what his vision met. 

Confused and startled by the sudden turn of events, Lan Sizhui shut the door and opened it again, in hopes it was all a hallucination. To his disappointment however this was not something he had conjured up from the sleep deprivation he had gained from relentless travels. An actual entire hallway was replaced with a new unfamiliar corridor!

"Did we seriously just got transported to whole new room! How the hell are we going met up with Zizhen and Jin Ling!?" Lan Jingyi cried out, pulling his hair while panicking. But just as he was about to open his mouth again, his cries were silenced by the hand placed over his mouth.

Lan Jingyi slowly turned his head to face Lan Sizhui who shushed him with a wave of his hand, his hands then pointed towards the door. Following the direction of Lan Sizhui's finger, Lan Jingyi mumbled curses into the hand over his mouth when his gaze had landed on the demon peaking through the doorway. Its tall figure standing menacingly in front of them, silently muttering curses beneath its breath.

"Damn them....damn them...that was my prey. Why do this bastards keep coming into my house! I caught that boy on my territory! Mine! Not theirs!" the demon grumbled, grinning his teeth in anger. Both Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi stilled when the demon screamed, silently observing its actions.

"Move to left. I'll take the right" Lan Sizhui whispered to Lan Jingyi, intending to ambush the demon from both sides. Both boys advanced towards the demon with caution, they regulated their breathing, preventing any unwanted sounds to escape their lips and alert their foe. In a blink of an eye, both boys' swords were drawn, aiming at the demon's neck to finish it off.

Pang!

Lan Sizhui had realized too late when the demon had caught on to their ambush, slamming it's hands onto the one of the drums growing out from it. When the tanggu had sounded, an invisible force pushed both boys back, causing their backs to hit against the walls of the room.

"Are you alright Jingyi?" Lan Sizhui asked his companion, concern visible on his face as he stared at the Lan Jingyi whom had hit his head and tumbled to the hard flour. His friend winced from the sound, slowly nodding his head to answer Lan Sizhui.

"Ugh what the hell just hit us? Since when did tanggu drums can send people flying!?" Lan Jingyi exclaimed, standing up and grabbing his fallen sword. When he stood up and looked around the room, he was surprised to find the floor beneath them had changed to the wooden walls that once surrounded the room. It wasn't just them that had been moved, the entire room had been flipped!

"Sizhui that demon's gotta be the lord of this house! I've never seen a demon's demon blood art doing this before!" Lan Jingyi hypothesized, he seemed excited that they had found the mission's target so soon. He raised his sword to his chest, preparing to attack the demon again.

"Wait Jingyi-"the rest Lan Sizhui's words were being left on deaf ears as Lan Jingyi charged forward, aiming for the demon's neck. 

Pang!

The sound of the tanggu ranged again, this time though the attack was only concentrated on Lan Jingyi. Instead of being flung back, the floor below Lan Jingyi shredded in the shape of a beast's claws, heading towards the boy. Fortunately for Lan Jingyi, Lan Sizhui had pulled the back of his collar in time to dodge the incoming attack.